This is a forum for people who love horse-racing but love the horses too. We want to make sure that the racing industry puts the welfare and safety of the horses FIRST, despite the financial pressures within the industry that lead to over-breeding, racing the horses to the ground or sending them off to slaughter for a quick, easy and profitable disposal method. We are DEMANDING industry accountability through less breeding, more retirement funding & putting an end to racehorse slaughter.

Monday, June 28, 2010

EQUINE PIROPLASMOSIS - USA (05): (NEW MEXICO) OIE

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Equine piroplasmosis, United States of America-----------------------------------Information received on 18 Jun 2010 from Dr John Clifford, DeputyAdministrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, UnitedStates Department of Agriculture, Washington, United States of America

Future ReportingThe event is resolved. No more reports will be submitted.

*****Communicated by:ProMED-mail

[The following description is from the USDA-APHIS website concerningthe disease at:

Equine piroplasmosis is present in South and Central America, theCaribbean (including Puerto Rico), Africa, the Middle East, andEastern and Southern Europe. Only the United States, Canada,Australia, Japan, England and Ireland are not considered to be endemic areas.

This disease is a disease of Equidae (horses, donkeys, mules, andzebras), and is caused by 2 parasitic organisms, _Babesia equi_ and_Babesia caballi_. Although, equine piroplasmosis is primarilytransmitted to horses by ticks, this bloodborne disease has beenspread mechanically from animal to animal by contaminated needles.Once infected, an equine can take 7 to 22 days to show signs of illness.

Cases of equine piroplasmosis can be mild or acute, depending on thevirulence of the parasite. Acutely affected equines can have fever,anemia, jaundiced mucous membranes, swollen abdomens, and laboredbreathing. Equine piroplasmosis can also cause equines to haveroughened hair coats, constipation, and colic. In its milder form,equine piroplasmosis causes equines to appear weak and show lack of appetite.

The greatest risk for introduction of this disease is through tradingof animals or international equestrian sports, where infected andnon-infected animals are in contact. Many disease free countries havethe climate suitable for a foreign tick vector, or have ticks whichcould act as vectors.

What the website blurb presented here doesn't mention is that thereappears to be a constant dribble of cases beginning with the Floridacases in 2008. Since then, there have been cases identified inMissouri, Texas, New Mexico, Utah and now New Mexico again in 2010.These incursions were the 1st ones since the disease was eradicatedfrom the United States in 1988.

International travel and trade of horses and the use of contaminatedsyringes are thought to be risk factors for the development of thedisease. If we are to prevent the dribble of cases from becoming aslow flow of cases over the next few years, this may be the time todig in and do intensive epidemiology so that we have a better answerto questions of where these cases come from and how a single horse inNew Mexico gets infected.

The report indicates that such investigations were made. Clearly,many times epidemiology does not reveal the source of the disease,but the constant presence of the disease is worrisome in terms ofhorse health status, and even more intensive investigations may bewarranted. - Mod.PC]

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A Little Bit About Me'Self

Lifetime Student in school of Hard Knocks.Born in Troy NY home of UncleSam,FALLOUT Capital of the Nation(google"The Troy Incident")other places I called home; Tucson & Bullhead City, Az., Seattle,Wa.,Taos,Ojo Caliente &Santa Fe,NM, LasVegas,Searchlight,Goodsprings,Jean,& Laughlin,NV.,San Francisco, Ca.,Portland,Or.,just 2 name a few. Places I have worked are bars, horse & dog tracks and casinos, and, later in life,law firms & with lawyers. Now in retirement,I stay home & mind my little mini-farm. In my spare time I pretty much live vicariously through the wonders of the www. I guess you could say (ala Eddie Rabitt) that I am - bloggin my life away,....lookin for & workin towards a better day, ohhh yeah. But however you look at it, there aint no gettin' around it, I'm jus' an ole' x-hippy-chick, struggling ever "onward through the fog" of life,....still here, still standin,..still laughing, after all these crazy years, and whats more amazing yet, still with at least some functioning brain cells!(Though through absolutely no fault of my own. Thank U geezis or whatever powers that be!)